Michael McFaul
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, commented on the Russian response to US sanctions. About it the diplomat wrote in his Twitter.
He declared that “Moscow’s response to Washington’s actions unfair because the U.S. did not intervene in the elections in Russia”.
Earlier Friday, the Russian foreign Ministry urged Washington until September 1 to bring the number of diplomats and diplomatic missions in mechanics of the Russian Federation in accordance with the number of employees of the Russian diplomatic missions in the United States. This means that the total number of personnel involved in the American diplomatic and consular institutions in the Russian Federation will be reduced to 455.
Also from 1 August suspended the use of the U.S. Embassy’s dacha in Serebryany Bor and all storage areas on a Traffic street in Moscow.
27 July the us Senate passed a bill on sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The document is sent for signature to President Donald Trump. The White house expressed support for the sanctions policy against Moscow.
The bill provides several limitations. In particular, it is proposed to reduce to 14 days the maximum period of funding of banks, which are under sanctions, and 30 days — for oil and gas companies.
At the end of last year Washington decided within 72 hours 35 to expel Russian diplomats, as well as close access to the residential Embassy complexes in Maryland and in new York city. This step they called “response to harassment of American diplomats in Moscow”.
In January of this year was published a declassified version of the report of US intelligence, which claimed that hackers attacked American computer systems during the election campaign, are the Russian authorities are using the attack allegedly wanted to influence the political process in the country. In response, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is seriously tired of the accusations and believes the ongoing witch hunt. Trump has described the situation with the same words.
On July 24 the Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov expressed hope that “anti-Russian campaign in the U.S. will run out of steam”, as still not presented a single fact of Russian intervention in the American elections, and the media, “sucked from the finger”.